Widnes Galvanising Ltd achieves ISO 9001
Widnes Galvanising Ltd, trading as Joseph Ash Widnes, has achieved the ISO 9001 accreditation for Quality Management Systems.
Widnes Galvanising joined the Joseph Ash Group of companies back in October 2022, so this achievement brings the site in line with the rest of the group. We now have the accreditation across all nine Joseph Ash Galvanizing and Premier Galvanizing sites.
About ISO 9001
ISO 9001 is a globally recognized standard for quality management, based on principles such as customer focus, leadership, risk management, continuous improvement and process efficiency. It helps organizations improve their performance, meet customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to quality.
The accreditation shows the site’s dedication to quality management, ensuring customers receive only the best standard of galvanizing and customer service.
Well done to everyone at our Widnes site on achieving the accreditation!
After an incredible 41 years of service, Mick Jackson, our IT and Marketing Manager, is leaving Joseph Ash Galvanizing at the end of the year to pursue new opportunities.
Mick has had numerous roles across the Company over the years, starting off in Internal Sales, working his way up to National Sales Manager, and then progressing to his current dual role as IT and Marketing Manager.
We had the pleasure of writing about Mick’s journey throughout the Company in his 40 year anniversary news feature last year.
Head Office arranged a buffet and gifts for him ahead of Friday as a farewell celebration.
Mick has been invaluable to the Company since he joined back in 1983, and we wish Mick all the best for the future!
“As we rapidly approach the end of 2024 and a well-earned break, I wanted to take the opportunity to share a few thoughts.
“My first year as Managing Director for Joseph Ash Galvanizing has flown by in the blink of an eye. I am delighted to be here, and extremely grateful to customers, colleagues, and suppliers for their warm welcome and enthusiasm towards Joseph Ash.
“Some highlights of 2024 were:
- Hill & Smith plc (our excellent parent company) celebrated its 200 year anniversary. Edward Hill established the modestly titled Edward Hill & Co. at the Brierley Hill Ironworks in 1824. Our celebrations ranged from burger vans visiting sites to commemorative roses!
- Not quite as long serving but still celebrating a very respectable 40 years was Gurpal (Charlie) Singh, our Walsall General Manager.
- Chesterfield achieved the Gold award from the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), demonstrating our commitment to safety.
- Improvements have been made to Health and Safety with encouraging results, as well as sustainability with targets on carbon reduction. We’re also improving our Learning and Development with early stage trials taking place.
“Performance in a challenging marketplace has been solid with plenty of opportunity for growth, and I would like to thank my colleagues for their hard work and dedication throughout 2024.
“As galvanizers, we survive (and thrive) by forming an essential part of our customers’ process, providing long-lasting corrosion protection over a short lead time. Our service and quality are relied upon, and we continue to strive to improve and enhance this partnership.
“Finally, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – 2025!”
Next pageChristmas is fast approaching, which means our sites will soon be shutting for the holidays.
To help you stay prepared, we’ve listed below the dates and times that our sites will be shutting, as well as the dates and times that our sites will be reopening in the new year.
| Site | Schedule |
| Bilston | Close: Thursday 19th December, 12:00am Open: Thursday 2nd January, 6:00am |
| Bridgend | Close: Friday 20th December Open: Monday 6th January |
| Chesterfield | Close: Monday 23rd December Open: Monday 6th January |
| Corby | Close: Friday 20th December Open: Thursday 2nd January |
| Hull | Close: Friday 20th December for production, Monday 23rd December for deliveries Open: Thursday 2nd January, 6:00am |
| Medway | Close: Tuesday 24th December, 2:00pm Open: Thursday 2nd January, 6:00am |
| Telford | Close: Wednesday 18th December (spin galvanizing); Friday 20th December (hot dip galvanizing); Monday 23rd December, 11:00am (deliveries) Open: Thursday 2nd January, 6:00am |
| Walsall | Close: Thursday 19th December, 2:00pm Open: Thursday 2nd January, 7:00am |
| Widnes | Close: Monday 23rd December (no production, deliveries until 12:00pm) Open: Thursday 2nd January |
If you have any steel that needs coating before the new year, book a collection or get a quote from us today to avoid disappointment.
A huge congratulations to our Joseph Ash Chesterfield site, who has recently achieved the FORS Gold Accreditation for their transport fleet. The accreditation makes the site the first galvanizer in the UK to achieve the Gold level of the accreditation.
The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is a voluntary scheme that businesses can undertake to demonstrate their commitment to safe road transport. The accreditation is no easy achievement, being the highest level the scheme achieves. Gold accreditation confirms that the business employs good practice, including dedication to driver and vehicle safety, combined with improving operating practices through effective monitoring of fuel and tyre usage.
Martin Hall, Divisional Manager at Joseph Ash Chesterfield, commented:
“This is a major achievement considering a significant number of dedicated transport companies are yet to achieve this esteemed level of certification.
“FORS Gold is becoming the new standard for a number of our contracts that require deliveries into our major cities. Major improvements have been made to our fleet including trailers and articulated vehicles which utilise some of the latest technology available.
“Chesterfield boast a bath size of 16.5m long by 1.7m wide and 2.65m deep, and can undertake all your collection and delivery needs anywhere in the UK.”
Well done to all involved!
Next pageThe end of the month sees the Joseph Ash Group bid farewell to two long-serving colleagues today.
Bob Preston has been the General Manager at Widnes Galvanising for the past few months, but has been with the company for many years and has had numerous roles since he first started at Premier Galvanizing. From 1st August, Dan Durn will be taking up the role of General Manager at Widnes.
David Prattis, General Manager at Premier Galvanizing Corby is also retiring and has been with the company for 6 years. From 1st August, his role will be fulfilled by Christoph Boueke who will be the new General Manager at Corby.
We wish both Bob and David all the best in their retirement!
Next pageHill & Smith PLC, Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s parent company, celebrated their incredible 200 year anniversary in June.
Founded in 1824, the group was founded by Edward Hill and was originally known as Hill’s Ironworks. Hill & Smith went on to acquire Joseph Ash Galvanizing in the year 2000, around the same time that Ash & Lacy PLC – a company founded by both Joseph Ash and John Pierce Lacy – underwent a public takeover.
To celebrate this landmark occasion, each site got to decide how they celebrated the occasion, with different events being held throughout the month of June. We’ve highlighted some of the events that took place across Joseph Ash below.
Widnes
Our Widnes Galvanising site had a retro burger van visit them, serving gourmet burgers and pancakes covered in fruit and chocolate. Their day was held on the 6th June.
Hull
Our Premier Galvanizing Hull site opted to host a fish and chip and ice cream van, with their celebrations on the 7th June. A great way to end a week!
Telford
Our Telford site opted to book a fish and chip van to the site and ordered cupcakes with Hill & Smith’s 200 Year Anniversary logo. They also held their own quiz with questions themed around the year 1824, and history about the industry and the company. There were over 30 entries in total, with prizes up for grabs including chocolates, alcohol, and a blender. Their day was held on the 24th June.
Bridgend
There were no food vans at Joseph Ash Bridgend; instead, they held a lucky dip raffle with many exciting prizes, including a 32″ TV, a 40″ oscillating fan, a deep tissue massager, alcohol and chocolate gift sets, vouchers, and even an extra day’s holiday.
They held the raffle at 6am on Monday 24th June to make sure that both day and night shifts could take part and no one missed out. Pizzas were also served throughout both the day and night. The team thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was a great way to start another week.
Congratulations to everyone who won a prize!
Chesterfield
Joseph Ash Chesterfield had an American-style burger van visit the site.
Bilston
Coming towards the end of the month, our Bilston site held a BBQ arranged by a catering company. They also had a visit from their local ice cream van. Their day was held on the 26th June.
Head Office
Finally, Head Office also celebrated on the 26th June, with a buffet breakfast arranged by Jason Anderson, Managing Director.
That’s not all though, as colleagues were also surprised with their own anniversary roses to take home for the occasion.
Joseph Ash Chesterfield has successfully met the Bronze level requirements of the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).
FORS is a voluntary scheme that covers all aspects of vehicle emissions, fuel efficiency, economical operations and safety.
Achieving the Bronze level means Joseph Ash Chesterfield‘s HGVs and practices meet the scheme’s requirements and the team are committed to maintaining the scheme’s standards, not just during the audit.
The Bronze audit is also the gateway to future Silver or Gold accreditations.
Well done to all involved!
Last week was sustainability week at Joseph Ash Galvanizing; a week for colleagues to focus on all things sustainability.
It can be easy to forget about sustainability when busy with day-to-day tasks, so the week serves to encourage colleagues to focus on environmental impacts and engage with the natural environment.
As part of the wider Hill & Smith PLC Group, Joseph Ash Galvanizing’s Technical department developed several activities and initiatives for the week to boost our site’s green credentials, have fun, and compete for prizes.
Take a look at some of the activities that took place across our sites below:
Biodiversity initiatives
Some of our galvanizing sites have large spaces of land surrounding them, which could be rewilded to encourage biodiversity. Managers were encouraged to let nature reclaim some of this excess land by allocating sections to be reclaimed by nature and scattering wildflower seeds to encourage new plant growth.
The new areas reclaimed by nature also serve to give colleagues a change of scenery, and potentially allow for new break areas for colleagues as we get closer to the warmer months.
Our Telford site was particularly keen to share their rewilding activities, fencing off a section of land using galvanized steel and dedicating the land enclosed to wildflower growth.
A competition to make the best birdbox was also held to further encourage biodiversity, with vouchers up for grabs for the winner.
Litter picking
Our Telford and Walsall sites have been busy taking part in some litter picking. The litter picked up can be correctly recycled instead of being left out and harming the environment.
Energy saving treasure hunt
To reduce carbon footprints at each of our sites, colleagues were encouraged to form groups and walk around the sites and and evaluate their environment, keeping sustainability in mind. This could include turning off lights, machines and other resources and questioning if they need to be used.
The energy saving treasure hunt is not a new concept; it was developed in 1999 by Toyota, and is a great activity for all companies to conduct, regardless of industry.
Competitions and prizes
There’s nothing like a bit of friendly competition, especially if it helps the environment! Prizes will be awarded for colleagues on a number of different categories:
- “Best Birdbox” award for the colleague who makes the best birdbox, with a voucher up for grabs for the winner – congratulations to Team Premier Galvanizing Corby!
- “Greatest Reduction in Energy” award for the site with the greatest reduction in CO² emissions per ton of galvanized steel for the month of May.
- “Most Sustainable Site” award for the site with the lowest year-to-date CO² output relative to galvanizing output.
Winners will be confirmed in the next few days/weeks.
Karl Hicks, Environmental and ESG Advisor at Joseph Ash, commented on the week:
“It’s been a great Sustainability Week where all the sites I’ve been to have shown real enthusiasm for getting involved, with dare I say a bit of competitive spirit. I am particularly chuffed with the fusion of “sustainability” & “galvanizing” that I’ve seen this week that demonstrates that the two are interconnected within the circular economy.
“My initial ideas for how sites could get involved have been improved on. I know that other things are in the pipeline across the sites in the next few weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing those and dishing out awards for them accordingly.”
Overall, the week has been a huge success. Thank you and well done to all for your efforts in improving our sustainability and environmental impact!
Interested in learning more about our sustainability initiatives?
We’re approaching the Easter holidays, so to help you arrange any work required during this period, we have outlined each of our plants closing schedules below.
| Site | Closure |
| Bilston | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April 6:00am |
| Bridgend | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April |
| Chesterfield | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April |
| Corby | Closed from Thursday 28th March 9:30pm, reopening Monday 1st April 9:30pm |
| Hull | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April |
| Medway | Closed from Thursday 28th March 5:00pm, reopening Tuesday 2nd April 8:00am |
| Telford | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April |
| Walsall | Closed from the morning of Friday 29th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April 6:00am |
| Widnes | Closed from the evening of Thursday 28th March, reopening Tuesday 2nd April |
If you have any upcoming requirements, get a quote or book a collection today to avoid disappointment.